August 24, 2007 - While Nintendo had the press' attention during GC 2007, it took the opportunity to continue harping on its philosophy of catering to new, non-traditional gamers. The current center of its focus, Wii Fit, was the key software on display at Nintendo's booth, and we spent a little more time getting acquainted with the "health game."
First we tried the Ski Jump, which sends your Mii down an Olympic-style ramp. You must crouch down on the Balance Bar to send the Mii careening down the slope, and then stand up to be launched into the air. You don't need to actually jump off the Balance Board. A sweet spot is highlighted at the end of the ramp, and you'll want to time your jump for this area. If you miss it and stand too early or late you'll fail the jump.
Once in the air you're not quite in the clear. You'll need to maintain perfect balance during your descent in order to land well. A graph in the top left corner of the screen shows where your weight is resting and you can adjust on the fly if needed. After two jumps your total distance will be added and the score will be placed in the rankings.
The Ski Jump utilizes bare bones presentation a la Wii Sports -- these bones may be even more bare than the system's pack-in, actually. Nintendo has seen fit to give your Mii arms and legs for this event, however.
Next we took Ball Rolling for a spin. A video version of the classic tabletop game where you maneuver a wooden maze in order to lead a marble to its goal, here the Balance Board is used to tip the maze on screen. The first level starts out simply with one ball, one hole, and no obstacles. When you successfully navigate the ball into the opening it drops down to the next level.
As you descend through the depths more balls will be added. We ended up with a total of four at once. Each ball is adorned with the face of one of your Miis. All the while a time limit is ticking down. If you miss your goal and a ball rolls over the edge of the playing field you'll have to keep trying and time will keep marching on.
The presentation during Ball Rolling is pretty cool, much more exciting than Ski Jump. The well of ball mazes is surrounded by what look like TV screens, all flashing different colors. The effect is somewhat psychedelic.
From the menu screen it looks like there are still many games we have yet to play in Wii Fit, and it's nice to have so many options as compared to Wii Sports' five events. Nintendo's current approach to videogames may be baffling to some, but getting your hands on its games has a way of convincing people.